Syria’s Assad isn’t a winner even if he takes full control

Douma, once a bustling commercial hub on the outskirts of Damascus, is in ruins, and its people who dared to stay put resisting the brutalities of Syrian President Basshar Al Assad have been reduced to a primitive life. Late on Saturday, a new deal allowed critically injured civilians to be ferried out of the city. Syrian state media later announced that rebels in the region were ready to surrender and strike a deal with the regime. Tens of thousands of civilians are awaiting relief. Buildings have been bombed to rubble and bloodbath has been horrific. Douma is the last rebel bastion near Damascus to fall as its fighters agree to make peace with the government or quit the eastern Ghouta enclave. The brute Syrian regime has once again succeeded in crushing dissent and stamping its authority over the region. It is all achingly familiar, a rerun of recent events — just the name of the city is different and people are different.

The over seven-year-old conflict has unleashed the worst humanitarian crisis in modern history. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has referred to Syria as ‘hell on earth’. Pope Francis, in his Easter Sunday message, called for a “swift end” to the carnage, and demanded that aid be delivered to the needy. The pope also called for “fitting conditions for the returned and the displaced.” But his advice is unlikely to be heard, for forces loyal to the Syrian regime just don’t care about anything except seizing control. Iran has been a major player backing the Assad regime, and has succeeded in replicating a power base in Syria just like it did in Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen. Turkey and Russia, too, have used the conflict zone to their advantage. Assad might seem to be winning with the support of such allies, but his victory is hollow. He might lead over a nation, but he will have be respected. Men and women, doctors and humanitarians, who refuse to leave the conflict zone to help their countrymen are the real heroes. Sadly, they do not have the support of the international community.